Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi renewed his call for establishing an integrated Korean industrial zone within the Suez Canal Economic Zone to help Korean companies expand into regional and global markets.
Speaking at a roundtable meeting on Wednesday at the start of his visit to Seoul, attended by representatives of 23 major Korean companies, Sisi said they aimed to advance joint work between Egypt and Korea to a more ambitious and comprehensive level.
Access to regional markets through Suez
Sisi said there was strong political will to advance Egypt-Korea cooperation in the fields of the economy, investment, manufacturing and technology.
Sisi said the proposed industrial zone could serve as a regional production and export hub for Korean companies, adding that the center would not be limited to producing for Egypt’s large domestic market.

Sisi said Egypt’s network of free trade agreements with African countries, the European Union and Arab countries could provide Korean companies with access to regional and global markets.
Sisi’s Asia tour begins in Seoul
Sisi arrived in Seoul on Tuesday evening, making the city the first stop on an Asian tour that also includes Malaysia and Indonesia. The duration of the tour was not announced.
The Egyptian president’s last tour of Asia, in 2023, included India, Azerbaijan and Armenia. Sisi’s last visit to Korea took place in 2016, while his last visit to Indonesia was in 2015.
The visit to Malaysia is Sisi’s first visit to the country since he became president in 2014.